The Latest: 2017

When the lack of storage is a pain, the finishes are extraordinarily plain and you just really don’t love your small kitchen, what do you do? If you’re designer Mary Lee, you rip it all out and DIY yourself a functional, stylish modern mini kitchen. Mary’s tiny 366 square foot Seattle studio apartment — that she shares with her partner and a dog — had me drooling over all the ways she added style and function to such a small space.

Sarah had an idea of the perfect mid-century-style mirror in her mind. So when she spotted something like that mirror, albeit a rusty, over the top version, she snatched it up. Using the classic DIY elixir of elbow grease and spray paint she turned the whole thing around in one well-spent afternoon. I love mid-century design and wanted a vintage starburst mirror for as long as I can remember, but I also didn’t want the price tag that typically goes along with the real deal.

Today is gonna be the day that we're gonna put some slats on you.

It was on a house hunting visit that Michelle and Alex Gage were first able to see this living room’s possibilities. Though the previous owners’ style was far from the couple’s modern, eclectic taste, the room had been thoughtfully arranged. As Michelle writes “there was a certain warmth and charm to the way the previous owner decorated. We saw that the space had potential.

Project by: Lesley Myrick of Lesley Myrick Art + Design Location: Waco, Texas Lesley was charged with upgrading this Texas living space. Her clients space was less groovy ’60s modern and more pre-fab ’60s outdated. The room is an add on that had a few key elements with serious potential. Lesley made some smart upgrades to those (hello refreshed built-ins) and got ride of the orange-ish ceiling beams.

Ever since reading Farhad Manjoo’s ode to the high-end toilet-seat bidet in the New York Times in 2015, I’ve been curious to try one.

We’ve seen Ariel work her renter friendly design magic before, and now she’s turned her energy toward the bathroom. In one weekend she added color, texture and style without sacrificing her security deposit. Check it out! From Amber: That folks, is what it looks like when bad spaces and poor planning happen to good people. As you can see, not terrible, but nothing that I’d call “Pinterest worthy.

What was initially supposed to be a cosmetic upgrade turned into a much larger project for Courtney and John after they discovered some water damage. Undeterred they set about turning Courtney’s parent’s bathroom and laundry room into a guest-ready space. Courtney writes, “This bathroom is in my parent’s pre Civil War era house. Over the past 20 years, it was the only full bath shared by my parents, two sisters and myself. It also served as our laundry room.

If you’ve ever had an unfinished area in your home you might have dreamed of the space it could be. Imagine adding more usable square feet to your home without building on an addition! But it can be intimidating looking at one of these raw spaces — with bare studs and exposed insulation — and feel overwhelmed with the amount of work that would be needed.

In truly tiny apartments, it’s not uncommon for renters to forego the traditional coffee table simply to squeeze in a little more seating. An extra chair or two means more room for friends, but once everyone’s there, where do you set down your drinks or serve the popcorn in a coffee-table-less room? To solve your insufficient surface area woes, DIY one of these ledges, c-tables or shelves that tuck into areas you didn’t even know your living room had.

When Chloe inherited her grandfather’s house she knew it would need some tender loving care. Working with her family to rethink the layout and rid the space of the less than desirable ’60s elements, she came up with a shockingly stylish space on a budget. From Chloe: I inherited this home in 2009 from my grandpa who built it in 1965.

Like turning geodes into air plant containers and etching glass jars.